First Steps

To register a death, you will need to contact your local Registry Office. The timeframe in which a death must be registered is different depending on where you live, 5 days in England and Wales, and 8 days in Scotland.

The Government website will help you locate the nearest registry office.

When registering the death, you should consider requesting more than one copy of the death certificate as many organisations will request to see the original certificate before they can help you to deal with the deceased’s affairs.

Many registry offices offer the Government’s ‘Tell Us Once’ service. This service notifies various government departments of the death, for example, DWP and HMRC.

If you do not know whether there is a Will you will need to find out. An ideal place to start would be the bank or the deceased’s solicitor. You can also find more guidance here.

As well as informing family and friends, you will need to consider who else needs to know. To assist, we have prepared a list of the most common organisations, which you may find helpful:

• Solicitors

• Other Banks or Building Societies

• Credit card or store card providers

• Any other financial provider (for example, loan providers, hire purchase agreements, premium bonds)

• Insurance companies (for example, building and contents insurance, car insurance, life insurance)

• Utility companies (for example, electricity, gas, water, telephone, broadband)

• Employer or private pension provider

• Royal Mail

• Doctor/Dentist/Hospital/Library

• Government departments:

  • DVLA

  • Identity and Passport service

  • Tax Office (HMRC)

  • Council housing office/Landlord/Housing association

  • Any relevant benefit offices (for example, council tax, housing benefit, adult social services)

  • Department of Working Pensions (DWP)

Please note this list is not exhaustive, and should only be used as a guide.

There are many terms which you may come across when dealing with a bereavement. To help you understand everything you need to know, we have listed definitions for some of the more common terms:

Administrator

The person appointed to administer an estate where there is no valid Will, or where the executor(s) is unable, or unwilling to act.

Attorney

A person appointed by another to act in his/her place.

Beneficiary

The person who is entitled to receive the funds or property from a Will or intestacy.

Bona vacantia

Latin for ‘ownerless goods’; this is a legal concept associated with assets that have no owner.

Capital Gains Tax (CGT)

CGT is a tax on capital ‘gains’. If when you sell or give away an asset it has increased in value, the profit (‘gain’) may be taxable.

Certifying documentation

Copies of documentation can be certified by a regulated professional person, such as a solicitor, accountant or bank official.

Clearance certificate/certificate of discharge

A certificate now usually issued in letter format by HMRC releasing a person liable to inheritance tax from paying further.

Codicil

This is a written amendment within a Will.

Commissioner for Oaths

This is a solicitor.

Deed of variation

This allows the individuals who receive funds or property from the Will (beneficiaries) to change how the estate is distributed to reflect family circumstances and possibly save future inheritance tax.

Estate

The term that covers everything an individual owns, i.e. money, property and possessions.

Estate accounts

Accounts recording the financial transactions during the administration period.

Executor

This is the person, named in a Will, who is to carry out the wishes contained in that Will.

Inheritance tax

The tax that must be paid from the estate of a deceased person.

Intestacy

This term is used when a person dies without having made a valid Will.

Joint Tenancy

This means that each person’s interest in the property is not quantified; both own the property jointly and individually. If one of the person’s were to die then the whole property automatically passes to the other person regardless of anything that is said in a Will.

Lasting or enduring power of attorney

Enable you to set out your wishes in a legal document and to appoint trusted people as ‘attorneys’ to oversee them. Lasting power of attorney replaced the enduring power of attorney from 1 October 2007.

Letters of administration with Will annexed

If the deceased left a Will but did not appoint an executor or if the named executor is unable to carry out the duty then the grant of probate is called ‘letters of administration with Will annexed’.

Personal representative

The person responsible for dealing with the estate of a person who has died, i.e. either the executor or the administrator.

Power of attorney

Formal deed by which one person appoints another to act/represent on his/her behalf.

Tenancy in common

This means that a person’s interest in the property is fixed and separate. If one of the person’s were to die, their share in the property could be passed onto someone else entitled to it under their Will.

Trustee

The person who is holding assets on trust.